There have certainly been a number of play compositions which are ductile and pliable such as those composed of grain flour based dough, modeling clay, silicone putty, natural gums and hydrophilic colloids. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,873,484 (Fichera) utilizes polyethylene oxide to make a shear sensitive composition as a play material. However, the polyethylene oxide composition cannot be extruded without degrading breaking up into small molecules which become sticky and thus unworkable.
By contrast, U.S. Pat. No. 4,735,660 (Cane) teaches a molding composition using guar gum in a gel with wood flour. The patentee employs a borate cross-link for the guar gum. U.S. Pat. No. 4,076,547 (Lester) teaches the use of a polyvinyl alcohol based composition which is cold water soluble. The patentee teaches a composition that converts to "a rigid, more-or-less permanent structure" which gels in thirty seconds and becomes permanently rigid in one to fifteen minutes. U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,766 teaches the fabrication of a modelling dough comprising a gelled polyvinyl alcohol based composition including water and a filler. Unlike the present invention, the '766 patent teaches a product which is intended to dry upon exposure to air to such an extent that it becomes sandable, carveable and paintable. These qualities are not shared by the present invention. The present invention produced a non-hardening composition due to the use of very high humectant and emollient levels herein, relatively low water content and the use of a hydrogen bonding agent. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,315,779 (Heyd) teaches an alginate and hydrophilic cellulose polymer with glycerine. This composition exhibits a high viscosity which, at room temperature, is in the vicinity of 200,000 centipoise thus providing the composition with an elastic memory.
It is quite evident that there have been a number of play compositions which are both ductile and pliable such as doughs based upon grain flour, modeling clays, silicone puttys as well as compositions based upon natural gums and hydrophilic colloids. Many of these compositions are stretchable but each is limited to a narrow field of play activity.
Typically, grain flour doughs crumble and dry out after only a few hours of use. Modeling clays, on the other hand, are messy and frequently have oils and other staining ingredients which are difficult to remove from carpets. Silicone puttys cannot be removed from fabric and carpets and are thus not a preferred embodiment for use by children in any but a highly controlled environment where care is taken to prepare a work area. Compositions based upon cellulose gums, alginates, guar gum, xanthan gum as well as other hydrophilic gums are slimy or stretchy and thus cannot be extruded and molded to retain detail and shapes. In addition, when such materials are left to dry, they are subsequently unusable. Furthermore, when these gum-based compositions are left to inadvertently dry in the nap of a carpet, they are difficult if not impossible to later remove.
Recognizing the need to provide a more versatile play material, the present invention was configured. Specifically, it was found desirous to provide a play material that can be used for long periods of time without drying to the point that it becomes unusable, that would not be harmful if accidentally ingested and that exhibits a bright and shiny colorful appearance with no unpleasant odor. It was further sought to have a play material that is stretchable and which can be inflated into bubbles, which can be cleaned up and removed from carpets and fabrics with water, which can be molded retaining detail until it is reformed and which can be extruded smoothly. It was also desirous to produce a composition exhibiting all of the above properties while being moderate in cost.